Saints softball ready for state

Thursday

Apr 30, 2009 at 11:02 PM

The Santa Fe College softball team has been able to handle everything thrown its way this season.

By Richard BurtonCorrespondent

The Santa Fe College softball team has been able to handle everything thrown its way this season.After finishing as national runner-up and state champions last spring, the Saints (47-7) faced some bumps in the road this time around, but battled their way to a fifth consecutive Mid-Florida Conference championship.“We really try to bring in high-caliber student athletes,” said Saints coach Chris Ahern, whose has been a part of eight consecutive trips for the program to the state tournament. “We spend a lot of time beating the bushes to get kids (in recruiting) and we really look for kids that want to be here and be part of our program.”Santa Fe’s quest for a second straight state title begins in the FCCAA Atlantic District/NJCAA District G Tournament against conference rival Daytona State (22-26) at the Auburndale Softball Complex at 2 p.m. today.The Saints won three of four meetings with the Falcons during the regular season, but all four games were decided by one run. Santa Fe’s doubleheader sweep of Central Florida on the final day of the regular season enabled it to claim the MFC championship.The Saints, who finished the regular season one game ahead of Seminole and FCC-Jacksonville in conference play, have plenty of talent to make another deep postseason run.Center fielder Brittany Cannon earned conference player of the year honors for the second straight season and rewrote the school record book in almost every hitting category.Joining Cannon on the first team for all-conference honors were Virginia Tech signee Kristina Cruz (third base), Kim Squires (pitcher) and Lawna Hunter (outfield), a Santa Fe High product.“The big key was developing chemistry,” said Ahern, whose team returned seven players who played in last year’s national championship game.The Saints have a tough region to navigate, as five programs from the MFC, as well as the nation’s top-ranked team, Indian River College, all reside in the District G for the double-elimination tourney.A year ago, Santa Fe knocked off Indian River twice at the FCCAA Tournament, before downing Tallahassee in the state final.The winners of District G and H will matchup Sunday for the state championship, with both earning a trip to the national tournament in St. George, Utah on May 14-16.